Serbia’s President asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the phone to help with breaking the deadlock in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, Aleksandar Vucic’s office said on Saturday.

Serbia is completely committed to the dialogue which is facilitated by the European Union with the intention to reach a compromise, a solution that is acceptable to both sides and secures stability in the region, he told Merkel.

He thanked Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron for initiating a meeting in Berlin and Paris which is supposed to take the process forward but explained that, in order to get out of the deadlock, Pristina needs to abolish the tariffs it introduced for Serbian products.

He asked Merkel for help in making that happen.

He also said that Serbia will stay committed to peace and cooperation in the Western Balkans, thanking Merkel for initiating the ‘Berlin process,’ which he said significantly contributed to the stability of the region.

Serbia’s President also asked Merkel to support forming a Regional Economic Zone, as it would be key for attracting investments and the economic development of the Western Balkans.

Dacic says meeting in Paris questionable

A meeting, planned for July 1, between representatives of Belgrade and Pristina over will not take place if relations do not improve and if Pristina does not abolish the tariffs it introduced for Serbian goods, said Serbia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic on Saturday.

Dacic said he is sure that German Chancellor Angel Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will not let Kosovo’s Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj “pull them by the nose.”

“We will also not let them pull us by the nose,” Dacic told reporters after he met with South Korea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Kang Kyung-Wha.

Serbia does not want to continue the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue until Pristina abolishes the tariffs, claimed Dacic.